Composite Nanomaterials for Water Treatment (M/F)

27 Jan 2024
Job Information

Organisation/Company

CNRS

Department

Institut de Chimie Physique

Research Field

Chemistry » Physical chemistry
Chemistry » Computational chemistry

Researcher Profile

First Stage Researcher (R1)

Country

France

Application Deadline

16 Feb 2024 – 23:59 (UTC)

Type of Contract

Temporary

Job Status

Full-time

Hours Per Week

35

Offer Starting Date

1 Mar 2024

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?

Not funded by an EU programme

Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?

No

Offer Description

The Institut de Chimie Physique is a mixt UMR unit of the University Paris-Saclay. The PhD student will work in TEMiC team (Institut de Chimie Physique, bâtiment 349, Université Paris Saclay, Orsay) Which is expert in nanomaterials and photocatalysis.

Water treatment is an urgent worldwide issue that scientists must address, although challenges varies whether populations in developing countries or those in developed countries are affected. Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) have been successfully applied for the removal in water of a large panel of (bio)recalcitrant (refractory) compounds that are not degraded by classical treatments, or at least for degrading them into readily biodegradable compounds. On the other hand, solar light is a green and renewable source of energy used in photocatalysis for water and air depollution, water splitting and hydrogen production.
We have shown that conjugated polymer nanostructures are very promising photocatalysts under UV and visible light.1,2,3,4,5,6 They are also very active for water oxidation and H2O2 production under solar light.
On another hand, ICPEES (our collaborator in University of Strasbourg) developed a high-prospect robust light-driven La1-xTixFeO3 catalyst that yields by Photo-Fenton full mineralization of refractory compounds in water at high rates under solar or visible light. 7
The main challenge of the PhD project will be the design of composite nanomaterials based on conjugated polymer nanostructures and La1-xTixFeO3 for water treatment. The aim is to design novel multi-functional light-assisted heterojunction-based composite catalysts interfacing the catalytic function of H2O2 synthesis, with that enabling the mineralization of refractory organic compounds in water by a synergistic combination of two AOPs. On one side, H2O2-mediated light-assisted catalysis takes advantage of the photocatalysis and Photo-Fenton reaction synergy occurring at ambient temperature on novel, versatile and robust narrow band gap dual catalysts for yielding full mineralization of refractory compounds in water at high reaction rates under solar light. Otherwise, in-situ synthesis of H2O2 is achieved under solar light on novel and tunable narrow band gap nanostructured conjugated polymer semiconductors.
This multidisciplinary project will be done in close collaboration with scientists who have a strong expertise in photocatalysis, material science and physical chemistry.

Requirements

Research Field

Chemistry

Education Level

PhD or equivalent

Research Field

Chemistry

Education Level

PhD or equivalent

Languages

FRENCH

Level

Basic

Research Field

Chemistry » Physical chemistry

Years of Research Experience

None

Research Field

Chemistry » Computational chemistry

Years of Research Experience

None

Additional Information
Additional comments

ANR project

Website for additional job details

https://emploi.cnrs.fr/Offres/Doctorant/UMR8000-HYNREM-005/Default.aspx

Work Location(s)

Number of offers available

1

Company/Institute

Institut de Chimie Physique

Country

France

City

ORSAY

Geofield

Where to apply

Website

https://emploi.cnrs.fr/Candidat/Offre/UMR8000-HYNREM-005/Candidater.aspx

Contact

City

ORSAY

Website

https://www.icp.universite-paris-saclay.fr/

STATUS: EXPIRED